


Warlord's Endeavour

by Amemait



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Outbound Flight, Star Wars: Rise of Empire Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Alternate Universe but not by much, And A Thousand Elephants!, Blatantly Winter hasn't married Tycho yet but that's her name in these tags -sigh-, GFY, Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo will end you, I have a cheunh dictionary everybody should run away now, If we can't get the shield generator fixed we'll be sitting ducks, M/M, Names are important and so is the grammar that goes with them, Spoilers: There are no elephants in this story., a host of OCs because I like to give the various ensigns names, already canon character deaths, the kitchen sink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:49:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1208332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amemait/pseuds/Amemait
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mitth'raw'nuruodo is an alien on the wrong side of the galaxy.</p><p>But that was never going to stop him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warlord's Endeavour

**Author's Note:**

> This is a WIP. I'm posting it mostly so I can start actually having a reason to work on it. It's entirely plotted out, but I need the reminder to work on it. Unlike the... other fics with this pairing, some of which eat my brain.
> 
> This opening goes AU in that the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi don't go rogue until the very very end of the Clone Wars - possibly driven over the final edge by Order 66, and Voss Parck rescued Thrawn from his Exile a very short time before Palpatine declared the Republic an Empire, rather than approximately a week to a month afterwards.

The Star Destroyer _Strikefast_ pulled out of hyperspace above the planet Bpfassh, and into a battle.

It had barely been one week since the Republic had died, and the Empire and Imperial Senate had risen from the ashes of its funeral pyre. One shockingly short week, in which Captain Voss Parck had been reassigned, while enroute back to Coruscant.

Still, it had given Parck time to spend with his guest.

“Thoughts?”

“The tactics are not human.” The glowing red eyes narrowed just slightly.

“There have been reports of some minor dispute in the area. Hardly seems worth an entire Star Destroyer, this could have been accomplished with a Dreadnaught.” Parck ignored the ‘tactics are not human’ comment. He disliked sweeping generalisations of that sort.

The alien shook his head, disagreeing as he so often did. “As I understand the politics of your previous Republic a ‘minor dispute’ would have been mostly ignored by the centralised government. The Kor-ell-ian traders I met previously were kind enough to explain the situation which arose above the planet of Naboo a decade or so ago.” Thrawn sounded out ‘Corellian’ carefully, determined to defeat his accent’s tendency towards ‘K’rell’an’. Nevermind that it was the only word he ever stumbled over, he was determined nonetheless.

“Sending a fully-equipped warship immediately to the front lines of a local dispute, cements your new Empire as a radically different regime,” Thrawn continued, staring out at the world below as though he could pick out the fighters without sensors.

“I admit, I had not considered that.”

Thrawn raised a hand and pointed. “That ship is _not_ piloted safely.”

Parck squinted, then gave up. “Vector?’

“Two-seven by two-three.”

And they were coming in fast and hot. The crew, Parck decided, were either in deadly danger, or they were already dead.

“Tractor beams?” Thrawn suggested, glancing over at Parck, who shook his head.

“Too large.”

“A beam might be enough to slow it down. If those aboard are injured, this would be a good opportunity to build goodwill towards the Empire. If those aboard are uninjured, and merely attacking…” Thrawn trailed off, considering. Parck was already barking out orders to the bridge crew, seeing Thrawn’s point.

“Tractors. Let’s try to slow these people down.”

“A Connor net?” Thrawn suggested, and Parck grimaced. There were only three left aboard, but this close in to Coruscant, they might as well risk it.

“We’ll see if the tractor can’t pull them in first.”

 

*

 

The human (and he was human, he was human, he was pretty certain that was the only thing left to him right now, that he was human) sat in the captain’s chair, while the (alien, monster, killed his crew, drove them all mad, all mad all sad all gone now) Dark Jedi before him stalked about the bridge and his ship groaned a little.

What was left of the bridge.

The human didn’t want to look at the bridge. He wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to be looking at the Dark Jedi (not a real Jedi, real Jedi don’t have eyes that suck out minds and leave crew dying at their stations, Dark Jedi because he took the lights out of others eyes), but he was anyway.

The human made a small, pained noise, his throat tightening.

The ship shuddered slightly more violently, and the Dark Jedi rounded on the human.

“What are you doing?”

The human didn’t answer, because he couldn’t. The words to say that he didn’t know why the ship groaned like that were in his mind, but then they were being plucked out, read, discarded like tortured artist’s flimsy.

The Dark Jedi whipped back to stare out at the starlines, and the big ship getting closer, while the ship slowed down, just a little.

The human closed his eyes, because the Dark Jedi was standing beside the Navicomp, and the human wasn’t to know where they were going, he knew he wasn’t to know.

The ship was too fast to be slowed for long, her momentum dragged her forward. Soon they’d jump to hyperspace and then it would all be over, the human would join his crew (who hadn’t all been human, hadn’t deserved to die, hadn’t hadn’t hadn’t).

The bright light flashed across his retina. The momentum still carried the ship (his beautiful ship) forward

 _Run_.

That was a word. It wasn’t the one the human was looking for.

 _Run_.

That was an interesting word. It made different sounds. It was a hard word to say fast, especially in the present tense.

_Will run. Run, running. Ran. Run fast, speed, faster-than-light._

The human tried to move out of his chair, but couldn’t. He let out another choked sob, then cut it off because it annoyed the Dark Jedi.

The sound sounded like something. Sounded like a sound. Like the gap in his name. The Dark Jedi wasn’t interested in his name. The human wasn’t interested in his name either. Sounded like a different name too.

The Dark Jedi wasn’t interested in that name either, but the human was, and he thought about it. It sounded like a legend in his head, an old story from long ago, not long ago, recently, just felt so long ago. A myth like the _Second Chance_ , he’d spent so long chasing that ship because Doriana, _Doriana_ wanted it. _Katana Fleet_ was becoming a myth, a mist, a thing to chase.

A _Mitth_ ’. It was a sound that was almost like his ship’s name. He’d thought it funny, once, had bought the ship because of the good omen in the name, had kept the name.

The human thought about the word and about the old stories he’d learnt in school before he’d left school that was longer ago than the _Mitth’_ , he could tell. The thought rolled around in his head like the rumbling rolling ‘r’ sound of an old repulsorlift.

Funny, the human thought. Funny, how he could think of things like a sound like _Mitth’_ , when he couldn’t even recall his own name.

The Dark Jedi had taken things from him. Like his name. Maybe he’d take the lights from his eyes (glowing? No, his eyes didn’t glow, that was the _Mitth’_ ), and eat them, the way he’d done with all the crew.

All his crew. His people.

Protect his people? He had done what was necessary. What had been necessary. It hadn’t worked.

_I will do whatever is necessary to protect my people._

His people. He’d failed to protect them. The _Mitth’_ would be disappointed in him.

The ship lurched, his ship, his dead ship with his dead people.

Maybe he’d remember about the rest of the _Mitth’_ before he died too?

 

*

 

“Whoever it is isn’t responding to our hails. We’ve got two lifesigns on the bridge, one a little faint.”

Parck grimaced. Either way, they were going to have no choice but to bring the ship aboard.

“Have assault team three meet our new guests in the docking bay with a medteam.”

Thrawn looked up from his own screen, glowing red eyes contemplative.

“An entire assault team, Captain?”

Parck shook his head. “I didn’t mention earlier. The uprising’s meant to involve some kind of Jedi. Possibly a turned one.”

“A… ‘turned’ Jedi?”

“One gone to the dark side of the Force. Which isn’t necessarily bad, look at Lord Vader; but it’s enough to make me send down an assault team just in case.”

Thrawn seemed to consider this. “Is a Turned Jedi more likely to use the Force to choke an enemy at a great distance?”

Parck nodded grimly, remembering some of the more expansive stories his Aunt’s mother had told about Jedi gone bad. She’d been an historian, which made it even worse.

Thrawn seemed to pale slightly.

 

*

 

The ship lurched and landed, which clearly displeased the Dark Jedi.

The human _Jorj, my name is Jorj Car’das_ blinked suddenly, rapidly.

_Oh space, he killed them._

 

*

 

Ensign Sueton watched the Captain’s blue guest stare intently at the vidsccreen, showing the hangar bay as the troopers moved in, and then he blinked.

“Pohskapforian,” the guest whispered, and pulled up the details the ship’s transponder had been broadcasting on an adjacent screen.

The _Fishing Boat_ , but the actual records indicated that this was the _Mythic Blade_ , registered to-

“Jorj,” and the guest took a step back from the console.

“Hrm?”

“I know the ship’s owner, Parck. And he is _not_ the person in charge of that ship right now.”

Parck looked at the ensign.

“Jorj Car’das, sir. A smuggler, but one of the ones the Chancel- the Emperor permits free passage to.”

“Kinman Doriana arranged the position for him, some seven standard years ago. He is not the pilot, nor is he in command of the ship at this time. The tactics it used to get here are all… wrong. Jorj would rather sneak off a planet on the nightside, and he wouldn’t attempt to ram a Star Destroyer’s superstructure. Or ram anything.” The guest looked… agitated.

“Sounds like you know him well, Thrawn,” the Captain noted. “You’re even using his given name.”

“He taught me Basic and infiltrated the Vagaari fleet for me so I could destroy them.” The guest narrowed his eyes.

“Doesn’t sound like the act of somebody who would want to just sneak away.”

“He’d only do something like that if I asked him to.”

“You’re close?”

“He trusts my tactics.”

“You think this is a hostage situation?” the captain asked, voice suddenly hard.

“I would think that Jorj Car’das is interesting enough for a fallen Jedi to keep alive.”

The captain nodded.

“For your friend’s sake then, Thrawn, I hope you are not wrong.” He keyed the intercom to the troopers’ helmets. “There may be civilians in there.”

 

*

 

The _Mythic Blade_ shuddered again, and Car’das could hear laser cutters starting to work at the door. The cockpit was so close to the door, that had been another reason to buy the ship, a good ship for a smuggler. He could hear them cutting through, and the Dark Jedi stared at Car’das a moment longer, before turning away in disgust and stalking down to greet whoever Car’das’ rescuers were.

And by ‘greet’, Car’das thought with a shudder as he opened the catches and crawled into the hatchway under the captain’s chair, the Dark Jedi no doubt intended to kill them.

It wouldn’t keep the other out for long. But it might buy Car’das enough time to die bravely with a blaster in his hand, maybe avenge his crew a little.

**Author's Note:**

> I just noticed that my initial draft for this stated 'ten weeks after the Empire began', which would probably have been me several months ago taking into account the actual information given in Mist Encounter, and calculating a good amount of travel time to get from the Unknown Regions to Bpfassh. this works within canon, but does not work for the purposes of this story.


End file.
